The Petaluma (Hero Stories)/Part 4
That night, on his way home to do some research, Papa Smurf stopped by Brainy's house in order to ask for his help. "Brainy, I need to talk to you," Papa Smurf said, chapping on the door. "Oh, you need my help, Papa Smurf?" Brainy asked, opening the door and sounding very eager of what Papa Smurf had to say to him. "I always knew you would need the help from your favorite assistant. Of all the Smurfs you've smurfed for help, you decided to smurf for me." Papa Smurf began regretting his own decision, but he didn't show it. "I need help, Brainy," Papa Smurf said. "Petaluma's forced Smurfette out of her own house and now she's smurfing with Hero and Wonder. I suggested to Petaluma about a gentle pruning in order to smurf more space for her and Smurfette, but she's against the idea." "So you're suggesting we prune her anyway?" Brainy asked. "Yes! We must smurf something to help Smurfette," Papa Smurf said. "I understand, Papa Smurf," Brainy said, pondering. "I'll just go and change." "Not right now, Brainy," Papa Smurf said. "I'm just smurfing on home to do some research. Once I'm finished, I'll smurf back for you." "I understand, Papa Smurf," Brainy said. "Excellent! I'll see you shortly," Papa Smurf said before heading off for home. Once Papa Smurf had returned to his home, he dug through his books and came across a book about different species of plants. He began to look through the pages. "Let's see: exotic flowers, rare flowers, talking flowers... there you are," Papa Smurf said, finding the page about talking flowers, with an illustration of a flower that greatly resembled Petaluma at the top of the page. "Ficus Solitarius: This talking flower is incredibly rare, incredibly beautiful, and incredibly selfish. It cares only for itself and its own survival; give it an inch and it'll take a mile. Not at the expense of my daughters she isn't." Papa Smurf then closed the book and began to dig through the closet for some shears. After a few minutes of searching, he found the shears and left to the house to find Brainy. He found him ready and waiting for him outside his home. "Ready, Brainy?" Papa Smurf asked. "Oh, of course, Papa Smurf," Brainy said excitedly. "I'm ready to help as much as possible." "Excellent! We better get smurfing," Papa Smurf said as they made their way to Smurfette's house. Upon arrival, they noticed Petaluma was in a deep sleep; her vines were all over the house. "Great Smurfs! You were right, Papa Smurf," Brainy whispered. "Let's just smurf her a little pruning and then Smurfette can return," Papa Smurf said, as he grabbed a vine and snipped it with his shears, with Brainy following suit. At the same time in Hero's house, Smurfette was still awake, sitting in a rocking chair whilst cradling Saviour in her arms. The infant Smurfette had already gone into a deep sleep and Smurfette was being as gentle as possible as to not wake her. Suddenly, both Wonder and Smurfette could hear Petaluma calling for help, her plea catching them by surprise. "Smurfette! Wonder! Help! Help!" Petaluma called out. "Smurfette! Did you smurf that?" Wonder asked, as she rushed down the stairs still in her nightgown. "What's smurfing on?" Hero asked, sounding really tired. "It's Petaluma! What's happening to her?" Smurfette asked. "I don't know," Wonder said. "But we have to help. Let's go." "Hero! Take Saviour," Smurfette said, sounding desperate. Hero took Saviour into his arms without saying a word as he watched both Wonder and Smurfette run out of the house at lightning speed. The commotion caused Saviour to suddenly awaken. "Waaah!" Saviour began to cry. "Don't worry, my little one," Hero said, trying to comfort her. "Papa Smurf will soothe you." Both Wonder and Smurfette arrived at Smurfette's house when they noticed the door was wide open. They went inside and saw that Petaluma's overgrown vines were everywhere. "Oh my smurfness!" Wonder said in disbelief. "What are you doing to Petaluma?" Smurfette asked, also in disbelief, as they both saw Petaluma had trapped both Papa Smurf and Brainy in her few remaining vines. "Your friends snuck into my house to vandalize my vines!" Petaluma said, sounding very angry. "But this isn't your house; it's Smurfette's," Papa Smurf responded. "You said it, Papa Smurf," Brainy added. "And this flower takes advantage of any Smurf who'd let it." "How could you have done this to Petaluma, Brainy Smurf!" Smurfette said angrily. "And you too, Papa Smurf!" Wonder added. "We thought you would've known better." "But, girls, you don't understand," Papa Smurf said, trying to explain their actions. "This flower is selfish. She doesn't care about either of you. She's been using the both of you." "Don't listen to him, you guys," Petaluma said. "He's just jealous that I'm yours." Smurfette and Wonder began to think about what Papa Smurf said to them, and they eventually came to the conclusion that he only tried to help and didn't mean any harm. "I'm sure Papa Smurf didn't mean any harm," Smurfette said, trying to keep the situation in a civilized manner. "Yeah, he only had good intentions," Wonder added. "Well, I'm sure I want out of this miserable place," Petaluma said angrily. "Tomorrow I want both of you to take me back to the forest." "What?" Smurfette and Wonder said in unison, shocked at what they just heard. "You don't mean that, Petaluma," Smurfette said. "Surely we can work things out." "Well, I'm sure we can't," Petaluma answered. "Now Out! Everyone Out!" Both Wonder and Smurfette could only break down in tears as they were forced out of the house, along with Papa Smurf and Brainy, as Petaluma slammed the door shut. "I always knew that flower was trouble," Brainy said. "What could've went wrong, Papa Smurf?" Smurfette asked, tears running down her face. "We smurfed to her every need and this is how she repays us?" "I'm afraid it's just how she smurfs, Smurfette," Papa Smurf said. "Being selfish and snarky is just part of her nature." "It just isn't fair, Papa Smurf," Wonder said, tears also running down her face. "We did everything right." "It's just how nature smurfs, I'm afraid, my little Wonder," Papa Smurf said. "You two better smurf on home. Hopefully you'll feel smurfier in the morning." Both Smurfettes never said a word as they headed off for home to try and get a good night's sleep. Upon entering the house, they noticed Hero wasn't downstairs to greet them. "Hero must've smurfed the little one to bed before smurfing to bed himself," Wonder said, wiping the tears from her eyes. Smurfette didn't say a word; she was still too upset about what just happened. Wonder understood how she felt; they spent so much of their time taking care of Petaluma and tended to her every need, and this is how she was repaying them. Before Wonder headed upstairs to get some sleep, she decided to give Smurfette a hug to show her support. Smurfette gratefully accepted the hug before Wonder headed upstairs to bed, while Smurfette just laid down in her bed and stared at the ceiling before crying herself to sleep. ... The following morning at breakfast, both Wonder and Smurfette still felt heartbroken at what happened the previous night. They didn't really feel like eating. They just sat at the table with their heads in their hands. Hero had just finished feeding Saviour her breakfast, when he noticed them. "My smurfness! What's the problem?" Hero asked. Wonder sighed, "Petaluma wants us to smurf her back to the forest," she answered. "How? What happened?" Hero asked again. "We don't want to talk about it, Hero," Smurfette said, sounding really glum. Hero was just about to answer when Petaluma called for both Wonder and Smurfette. "SMURFETTE! WONDER! WHERE ARE YOU?" Petaluma shouted. Smurfette sighed. "I guess we better get going, Wonder," she said. "Indeed, Smurfette," Wonder said. "We can't leave her waiting." Hero looked on as both Smurfettes left the dining hall. He felt like he wanted to help, but he wasn't sure how. When Smurfette and Wonder arrived at Smurfette's house, they noticed Petaluma was still in the same place she was in from the night before. "What took you guys so long?" Petaluma asked angrily. "Come on, load me up and get me out of here." Both Smurfettes never said a word. They tried their hardest to hold back the tears as they put Petaluma into a new plant pot and loaded her into a wheelbarrow at the side of the house. Smurfette took hold of the wheelbarrow's handles, but Wonder wanted to take them. "I don't care who holds the handles," Petaluma said. "Just one of you wheel me out of this miserable place." After a quick discussion, both Wonder and Smurfette came to an agreement that Smurfette would be the one to take the handles. "Are you done yet?" Petaluma asked. "Let's get out of here." Smurfette took hold of the wheelbarrow's handles, and with Wonder by her side, they left the village. The Smurflings, along with Papa Smurf, watched them as they left. "Gee, I kinda feel sorry for them," Sassette said. "They tended to the flower's every need and this is how she repays them." "It's just part of her nature, my little Sassette," Papa Smurf said. "Isn't there anything you could do to help, Pappy Smurf?" Sassette asked. "Me and Brainy tried to prune her last night because she gotten so big, and she rejected it," Papa Smurf said. "I just don't trust that flower," Snappy said. "Ever since she called me a pipsqueak, she just makes me want to smurf her into so many shades of blue." "I'm proud you managed to control yourself, Snappy," Papa Smurf said. "There will be certain points in life to test yourself." "Do you want to smurf after them, Papa Smurf?" Nat asked. "What for?" Papa Smurf responded. "In case if the flower smurfs some funny business," Slouchy quickly added. Papa Smurf began to ponder at the thought, and thought it would be best if they did follow, just in case if Petaluma did pull any funny tricks. Out in the forest, both Wonder and Smurfette were trying to find a good spot for Petaluma, but she wanted to find a place that she liked. "I'm sorry things didn't work out, Petaluma," Smurfette said, sounding very upset. "I promise to visit you often." Wonder put her hand on Smurfette's shoulder to give support. "I also promise to visit you as well," Wonder added, also sounding upset. Petaluma turned to face them. "Well, just don't tell those barbaric blue friends of yours were I am," she said, before finding a spot that she liked. "Wait! There's a nice spot, by that oak tree." Smurfette lowered the wheel barrow to the ground as she and Wonder brought out their gardening tools and began to dig a rather large hole to put Petaluma in. "Come on, hurry up! I want to be planted," Petaluma said, sounding impatient. "We're going as fast as we can," Wonder said. "If you want the spot to be nice, you need to let us do it carefully." Petaluma sighed with frustration. "Alright, fine." After a good while of digging, both Wonder and Smurfette had now successfully planted Petaluma in her new spot. Smurfette applied the finishing touches. "All done, Petaluma," Smurfette said sadly. "I hope you'll be happy here." As Smurfette burst into tears, Wonder put her had on her shoulder before she gave her a hug to show her support, with Smurfette returning the favor. "Oh, stop crying," Petaluma said. "Those salty tears are stinging my petals." Both Smurfettes were shocked at her behavior. "Petaluma, you've never talked to me like that before," Smurfette said, taking a few steps back. Wonder noticed she was heading towards a mud puddle. "LOOK OUT, SMURFETTE!" Wonder shouted, but it was too late. Smurfette had stepped into the mud puddle. She began sinking into it. "Oh, I'm sinking! Petaluma, Wonder, HELP!" Smurfette shouted. "And get my tendrils muddy?" Petaluma asked. "Don't be ridiculous." "You stupid plant!" Wonder said, running past her to Smurfette's aid. "Hang on, Smurfette, I'll save you." "Can't allow that, dearie," Petaluma said before she gave Wonder a heavy push, causing her to lose her balance. She took a deep breath before falling head first into the mud. She kicked her legs about frantically. "What are you smurfing, Petaluma?" Smurfette asked, trying to find something to grab on to. "She could suffocate." "Not my problem," Petaluma said, turning away. "Oh, Papa Smurf was right," Smurfette said, trying to claw her way out of the mud. "You don't care about us at all. HELP!" "Oh, stop yelling!" Petaluma said. "You're giving me a leaf-ache." Luckily, Papa Smurf and the Smurflings were close by when they heard Smurfette's cry for help. They had brought a long rope with them which was made from a tree vine. "Hang on, Smurfette!" Sassette called out. "We'll save you." They managed to arrive just in time as Smurfette was almost up to her neck in mud. Sassette threw the rope to Smurfette, who grabbed it as quickly as possible. "Every Smurf pull!" Papa Smurf commanded, as he and the Smurflings pulled Smurfette free of the mud. "We've got to save Wonder or she'll suffocate, Papa Smurf," Smurfette said frantically. "Quickly, my little Smurflings!" Papa Smurf said. "We've got to smurf Wonder out of there." "I'm on it!" Snappy said as he edged his way to the edge of the puddle and tied the rope around Wonder's right leg. "Quickly, Smurflings! PULL!" Papa Smurf said, as he and the Smurflings pulled with all their might and eventually Wonder was pulled free from the mud. She gasped for air as soon as her head had surfaced, before wiping the mud away from her eyes. "Thank smurfness we decided to follow you into the forest," Papa Smurf said. "Yeah!" Snappy said. "We didn't trust that fickle flower for a minute." "Well, I simply didn't trust small blue runts!" Petaluma said, snarky. "WHY YOU!" Snappy shouted, as he tried to rush a Petaluma, but was held back by both Nat and Slouchy. "Let me at her! Let me at her!" Smurfette looked up at Petaluma, "And after all the love and care we gave you, Petaluma, you hadn't lift a leaf to save us." "That's the way the bulb blossoms," Petaluma said before forcing the Smurfs of their way. "Now move, you're standing in my sunlight." "I will need a really long shower to remove every last ounce of this mud," Wonder said. "Just make sure that Hefty doesn't smurf you," Sassette said, warning her. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he won't," Wonder said. Smurfette stared back at Petaluma as they made their way back to the village. "Goodbye, Petaluma," Smurfette said sadly. "I know who my real friends are." As the Smurfs had gone out of sight, Petaluma felt happy to be back out in the peaceful forest once again, but she wasn't expecting a cool breeze to blow her way. She shivered with the cold. "Brr, that's a cool breeze," Petaluma said, trying her hardest to keep herself as warm as possible. Smurf to Part 5 Category:A Heroic Smurf's articles Category:The Petaluma Chapters Category:Hero the Guardian Smurf stories